A German Christmas tradition is a visit to the local Christmas market – and usually every town, big or small, will have one. Apart from last-minute Christmas shopping for tree ornaments, one can find German Christmas food and special drinks only available at this time of the year.
German Christmas Food
Oh, who wouldn’t love Christmas just for the delicacies that it brings along! A trip to the Christmas market will tempt one to buy traditional German Christmas cookies such as Pfeffernüsse, Spekulatius,and Vanillekipferl. Lebkuchenherzen are very popular because each one has a short (and sweet) message written on it. They are usually gifted to someone to convey that message.
Remember that the German Christ- is pronounced with an /ee/ as in Christmas. Unless otherwise noted, pronunciation follows standard German vowel and consonant rules.
- Christstollen – German fruit cake with nuts and marzipan (the first st is a sharp s with t, the second one is /sh/ and t – say it slowly at first)
- Lebkuchen – gingerbread
- Lebkuchenherz – gingerbread heart
- Paradiesapfel – candied apple; literally: paradise apple
- Pfeffernüsse – spiced nut cookies
- Spekulatius – traditional spicy Christmas cookie
- Vanillekipferl – vanilla crescent (sg. and pl.)
What to Drink at the Christkindlsmarkt
Of course, there are many more things to drink at a Christmas market, but the three below are the most famous. Feuerzangenbowle is a strong alcoholic drink made with rum that burns through a whole sugar cone. Therefore the need for fire tongs! Glühwein is a spiced red wine concoction served hot; the best remedy for a cold winter day. It is also available as a fruit punch version for children. Eggnog needs no introduction.
Eierpunsch – eggnog
Feuerzangenbowle – literally: fire tong punch
Glühwein – hot red wine
Tree Ornaments and Other Typical German Christmas Memorabilia
Certain Christmas items are tools to keep track of the time until Christmas. The children’s advent calendar, for example, counts down the days from the 1st to the 24th of December and contains an (often sweet) surprise for every day. The advent wreath keeps track of the four Sundays before Christmas; each Sunday, one more candle is lit.
One area in the east of Germany, called Erzgebirge (literally: the ore mountains), is famous for its intricate woodwork. Making tree ornaments, nutcrackers and pyramids has a long tradition there. The Christmas pyramid is a kind of carousel for the table with various levels. The heat from candles lit below moves its rotor on top. The different levels show motives and figures from the Nativity story; many Christmas markets even display life-size Christmas pyramids.
- Adventskalender – advent calendar
- Adventskranz – advent wreath
- Baumornament – tree ornament
- Christbaum – Christmas tree
- Christbaumkugeln – Christmas bauble or Christmas ball
- Christkindlsmarkt – same as Christmas market, just stressing the Christ Child connection
- Kerzen – candles
- Lametta – tinsel
- Nussknacker – nutcracker (pronounce all the consonants: -kn- not just –n-)
- Tannenzweige – (fir) tree branches (for decoration), often also called Tannengrün
- Weihnachtsbaum – Christmas tree; interchangeable with Christbaum
- Weihnachtslied – Christmas carol
- Weihnachtsmarkt – Christmas market
- Weihnachtspyramide – Christmas pyramid
Now that what to eat, what to drink and what to buy at a German Christmas market is taken care of, why not learn German Christmas greetings or the lyrics to O Tannenbaum?
Fröhliche Weihnachten! – Merry Christmas!
 |
 |
 |
